Articulating Mystery- Lord Hall

The Lord Hall Gallery recently housed an exhibition called Articulating Mystery which consists of art by David Larson. This exhibit was in Lord hall from February 6th until March 20th. The exhibition had free admission and it was very easy access for University of Maine students because it was located right here on campus. This exhibit was sponsored by the Department of Art and a grand from cultural Affairs/distinguished lecture series. Students at UMaine should keep their eyes open for other exhibitions going on at the Lord Hall Gallery because they are free and easy, also a good way to spend your time.

The Bell of Amherst

This past Wednesday UMaine welcomed a guest artist to star in the one women show, The Bell of Amherst, which brings the works of Emily Dickinson to life. This guest artist I speak of is named Pam Chebora. The play consists of two acts which has Dickinson's poetry throughout the acts. “She just really pulls you in to what happened to her and her family,” Chabora said about Emily Dickinson herself. This was a good performence for young people to see because most of them don't know much about Emily Dickinson and its the perfect oppurtunity to learn about someone that is a timeless artist.

Collins Center For Th Arts

Now that The University of Maine has opened the newly renovated Collins Center for the Arts there is now many opportunities for students and the general public to get involved with performing arts. I bet many students were wondering when the MCA would be back up and running, it seemed like the renovations were going on forever. Finally in the middle of this school year we all saw the construction signs come down and the new sign (and name) revealed. The Collins Center for the Arts (formerly the Maine Center for the Arts) opened with a bang housing the the International Dance Festival the first weekend of its opening. Also following close after was a comedy show put on by the very popular Demetri Martin, students flocked to the new center for the arts to see both of these events, a very successful opening for the long awaited performing arts center. Since opening the Collins Center for the Arts seem to have a full scedule that streaches into the summer months. Currently the center is showing Hairspray in it's national tour, this performence will be on March 30th. Some upcoming showings to look into are To Kill a Mockingbird bu the Montana Repertory Theater which will show on April 15th 2009 and also The Lord of the Dance which will take place in May 3rd. You definitely want to kep your eye out for the many exciting things happening at the new Collins Center for the Arts. Check out their website http://www.collinscenterforthearts.com/index.php#box6

Saving Petroglyphs on Machias Bay

UMaine is teaming up with the Passamaquoddy Tribe in order to save the Petroglyphs that are present on Machias Bay. These are very important to archaeology and are looked at as sacred to the Passamaquoddy Tribe so it was a joined effort to save these peices of history, for different reasons. The Machias bay petroglyph sight is the largest on the northeast coast and it is full of history that matters a lot to the Passamaquoddy people. Petroglyphs are made by ancient tribe members and they're made by fish and seal bones bones and clam shells.

Songwriting Competition at Umaine

A University of Maine student was awarded the grand prize of the John Lennon song writing competition in the children's music category. This is a very prestigious competition and the winner's name is Daniel Flannery who is a part of the Intermedia masters of fine arts program here at UMaine. Flannery yields from New Jersey and recently moved to Maine in hopes of breaking into the children's music field along with his brother Micheal Flannery. The song that they won the prize for is called "One Wasn't enough". The grand prize is the songs entry in the competition for the Lennon Award and the $20,000 Maxell song of the year award. For more information on the John Lennon song writing competition visit this website: http://www.jlsc.com/

UMMA Current Exhibit

The UMMA currently has an exhibit containing works from three artists: Timothy McDowell, John Bailly and Boshu Nagase. The UMMA is always changing their exhibits and these three artists are what they are showing as of now. All of the artists have different styles of painting which is why the museaum decided to use them. It makes it so there is something there for many different people with different style preferences. Timothy McDowell paints landscapes, but he adds his own twist to them. He is very abstract in his painting, he uses his imagination when it comes to landscaped to make it interesting. John Bailly is much different his paintings are very abstract, he leaves it up to your imagination what to make of his paintings. Here are examples of the works of Timothy McDowell and John Bailly.
John Bailly T.M.

Umaine Art Depatrment

At The University of Maine the art program is very extensive. The department is full of seasoned professionals in many aspects of the field including art history, art education and some are even actual working artists. If you are interested in the art department here at the university you are bound to find others who are also interested because the department houses over 200 people pursuing a major and 115 pursuing a minor. There is a variety of different classes that students can take even if they aren't planning on majoring in art and these include: sculpture, drawing and digital art. The department also emphasizes guest speakers so students can learn about art from a different perspective. Even if you arent an art major the department of Art at UMaine has a lot to offer.